9 arrested for joining boxing match in Cebu beach

Cebu boxing ECQ violation
Residents of Barangay Tangke, Talisay, Cebu organized a boxing match on the beach amid ECQ. (Image from Cebu Social Media)

Police arrested nine people, including five teenagers who violated quarantine protocols by attending a boxing march the villagers held on a beach in Talisay City, Cebu province.

“It’s very disappointing that these people do not understand the gravity of the situation,” said Talisay Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr.

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Authorities charged the arrested with violations of Republic Act No. 1132, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, and Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code for disobedience.

The said boxing match in Barangay Tangke was caught on video and circulated online. It caught the attention of the mayor and so he ordered the police to arrest those involved immediately.

Gullas said those who watched the boxing match did not follow social distancing. They also violated the protocols of existing enhanced community quarantine implemented by the government.

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9 arrested for joining boxing match in Cebu beach

Sports activities and other mass gatherings are prohibited in both GCQ and ECQ areas.

The policemen led by Maj. Gerard Ace Pelare, Talisay police chief, arrived on the beach, but the group already dispersed. The nine were arrested during a follow-up operation.

Pelare, who is also a lawyer, said he decided to include the five minors, aged 16 and 17, in the cases “to teach them a lesson.

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”Under RA 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, minors aged 16 or 17 may be held liable if they acted “with discernment,” meaning they are aware of what they are doing.

Mayor Gullas appealed to barangay officials to help the city government in imposing ECQ rules to prevent the residents from getting exposed to acquiring COVID-19.

A similar incident happened in Barangay 20 in Tondo, where residents held boxing and bingo games. As a result, Manila Mayor Isko Domagoso put the entire area in a 24-hour shutdown.

No-sail policy

Police arrested a Korean and two boatmen from Surigao City who docked at the coastline of Barangay Doljo on Panglao Island without any authorization from the government.

Authorities also arrested five people in separate operations for violating the no-sail policy enforced in the province.

Included in the arrested were two siblings who sailed from Cebu City to Barangay Fatima, Inabanga town, where they live.

Authorities put the five under the mandatory 14-day quarantine.